


Silks

by Adventures_in_Writing



Series: Circus [2]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Aerial silks, M/M, circus AU, sword-swallowing (like actual swords)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-13
Updated: 2015-03-13
Packaged: 2018-03-17 17:42:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3538346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adventures_in_Writing/pseuds/Adventures_in_Writing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was one performer that had him spellbound and Tucker never would have expected Washington to take an interest in his act.</p>
<p>"…I’ve been wondering for a while…" Washington asked, stepping into the ring once the sword was very clearly outside of Tucker. "How do you do that?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Silks

**Author's Note:**

> Sword-swallower: Tucker.
> 
> Aerial silks and lyra artist: Washington.

Lavernius Tucker, sword-eater extraordinaire, loved the rag-tag circus troupe he’d joined years ago. Despite their differences, they performed well together and managed to have quite the skill-set amongst them. Tucker always had an appreciation for those skills he didn’t have. He often wondered how Tex and her partner Omega had enough guts to do some of their daredevil tricks and York and Delta’s slight of hand amazed him. There was one performer, though, that had him spellbound. He had seen Florida up on the aerial silks countless times and had watched him on the Chinese pole but he had never been astounded.   
  
Tucker could remember the day he saw Washington up on the silks clearly. Tucker knows it was the day he fell in love. Not that he would ever tell the aerial silks artist that. The way Washington had interpreted the music was breathtaking and the way he climbed and twisted and fell was both beautiful and shocking. Washington had complete control over everything he did. His movements were precise and he had absolute faith in both the silks and himself.   
Tucker would watch from the sidelines, not wanting to interrupt Washington’s practice. After each session, Tucker would wonder if there was any way he could incorporate the same grace into his own performances.   
  
Tucker never would have expected Washington to take an interest in his act.  
  
"…I’ve been wondering for a while…" Washington asked, stepping into the ring once the sword was very clearly outside of Tucker. "How do you do that?"   
  
Tucker almost dropped the weapon; he hadn’t realised that Washington had been watching him.   
  
"Practice?" He said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.   
  
"Well, yes. But that doesn’t really answer my question," Washington chuckled.  
  
"It takes a lot of practice. Patience too. You can’t really just go ‘hey, I wanna swallow a sword!’ and achieve it in a week. It takes years of study, practice and conditioning. There’s a whole bunch of little things you need to be hyper aware and careful of otherwise you’ll slice your throat to shreds."   
  
"So it’s not something I could learn then?" Wash wasn’t particularly interested in learning, but it was pretty damn impressive. He knew that Tucker only performed at a few of their shows a week as his act was probably the most dangerous in the troupe and there were real risks to doing it too often.  
  
"I wouldn’t say that. You could try to learn, but as I said, it takes years of study because it’s pretty fucking dangerous and it’s not exactly pleasant. And I kinda like you without any punctured organs. If you wanted to, I could show you up close and personal how it works,” Tucker grinned. “Metal isn’t the only thing I can swallow whole.”  
  
Wash gave Tucker a pointed look.   
  
“Or maybe you could teach me some stuff on the silks or lyra instead? That shit is impressive. Especially when you do those crazy twisting drops.”   
  
"What’s your strength like?" Wash asked.   
  
"I use to do acro, so I think it’s pretty good. I still keep it up, you know. Bow chika bow wow."  
  
Wash took a hold of the length of grey silk.

“When you’ve perfected the drop, maybe you can show me your, uh, technique. Kind of like a trade.”  
  
Tucker squinted at Washington, trying to gauge if he was being serious.   
“You’re not talkin’ about metal, are you?”  
  
Wash’s cheeks were pink when he spoke and he wrapped the fabric securely around his foot. “You’ll want to pay attention. This step is important.”  
  
Tucker had never been a more attentive student.


End file.
